Dreams of the Past
by Ranger Do'Urden
Summary: Rose has trouble sleeping on night and asks the Doctor for help. After sending her to sleep telepathically, Rose begins to have strange dreams of a small, brown haired boy on a red planet. Who is he and why does he seem so familiar? Just who is Theta Sigma? *Rated M because I'm paranoid*


**AN:** **Wow, I believe this is the longest fic I have ever written. Originally it was just supposed to be another short story with Rose and the Doctor, but somehow this came along. I hope you like it! I tried my best to research all I could on Gallifrey but not much is said in the actual show. Let me know what you think, I love reviews! :)**

**~Obviously I don't own any of this, if I did I never would have let David Tennant leave ;)**

Rose sighed and glanced at the clock again, 4:27. She didn't even know why she had the thing, time didn't flow the same in the Tardis as it did on Earth. Because of their hectic lifestyle, Rose had tuned her body to sleep when it needed it, regardless of the time... or so she thought. She glanced at the clock again, 4:29. She groaned and slowly rolled out of the bed. Rubbing her face sleepily, she slipped on a pair of shoes and went in search of the Doctor.

_This is ridiculous_, she thought. Here she was, exhausted after another day of adventures and she couldn't sleep.

Mumbling under her breath about the cruelty of the universe, Rose stepped into the console room. Surprising enough, it was empty. The Doctor was always in here, fiddling with the circuity and causing all sorts of mischief while he waited for her to rest.

_Where has he gone to,_ Rose pondered walking around the console to make sure his body wasn't just hidden. It wasn't, the room truly was empty... until she saw a tuft of brown in the corner of her eye. Rose smiled despite herself. Curled on the chair, hair sticking up in all directions, was the Doctor, fast asleep. Rose stifled a giggle as she carefully approached the thin figure. The Doctor looked so innocent while he slept, she decided. Deep in the throes of sleep, his face smoothed out and for the first time Rose saw the Timelord completely relaxed. All traces of grief and worry faded from his face and for a precious moment, he finally looked at ease.

Feeling like she had intruded on a private moment, Rose turned to return to her own room. However before she could leave, the Tardis gave a jostle. Behind her, Rose heard the rustling of fabric followed by a slight moan. Once again turning to the Doctor, Rose was sad to see that moment of bliss had passed as the Doctor returned to reality. Mentally cursing the ship for waking him, Rose smiled as the Doctor blinked the sleep out of his eyes. Finally awake, the Doctor returned her smile.

"I thought you were trying to rest," he said casually, like it was the most normal thing for him to be passed out on the console chair.

It might be, Rose realized. She had never seen his room, did he even have one? Up until now, she hadn't even known the alien slept.

"Yeah well, key word there was trying. I couldn't fall asleep."

The Doctor frowned at that. "Did you try counting sheep?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, I walked around the Tardis a bit and even tried drinking some warm milk. I really don't want any medication so I was wondering if you had any ideas."

The Doctor pondered her words for a moment and shook his head. "Not really," He said at last. "Unless I sent you to sleep telepathically. Mind you I don't know if it would work, I've never actually tried it. But in theory if I could stimulate your astrocytes and trick them into releasing enough adenosine... again there's no guarantee it would work."

Rose shook her head at his rambling and interrupted. "Would it hurt?"

"Hmm? Oh no, not at all. You might have some weird dreams, side effect of telepathic interference in your brain. But it wouldn't hurt, no."

"And you think this would help me sleep?"

"Welllll, as I said there's no guarantee it will work..."

Rose grinned and grabbed his hand. "Well come on! The faster we do this, the sooner we can get into more trouble."

The Doctor grinned in response and followed his companion to her room. Upon entering the room, he gestured for her to sit on the bed. Rose obeyed and began to tap her fingers nervously.

Crouching before her, the Doctor placed both hands on her temples and looked at her seriously. "To do this I'm gonna have to go inside your head. I promise I wont look at anything and I'll try to make this as comfortable as possible. But if there is anything you don't want me to see, I want you to imagine a door and I won't look, ok?"

Rose nodded her understanding.

"Good," He smiled reassuringly. "Now are you ready?"

Rose nodded again and the Doctor closed his eyes.

Upon entering her mind, the Doctor was pleased to find that there were no closed doors. Unable to help himself, he gave a quick peek into her childhood memories and watched her growing up. Smiling to himself happily, he continued his search for the astrocytes. He found them quickly enough and to his delight, soon had them producing plenty of adenosine. Feeling Rose lean against him, he hurriedly pulled himself out of her mind and saw she was fast asleep. He layed her down carefully and pulled the covers up. Gently kissing her forehead, he silently left the room.

Now unable to sleep, the Doctor slowly meandered his way back to the console room and lazily began flicking some switches.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rose continued to rest peacefully. In her dreams she found herself on a new planet, one she had never seen before. The sky was a burnt orange and in the distance mountains ranged as far as the eye could see. A mighty citadel, domed with glass, glistened under the light of the twin suns. Barefoot, she padded across a field of deep red grass and breathed in the rich scent of the planet. Sighing contently she was suddenly aware of soft footsteps behind her. Turning around she noticed a small figure roaming through her field.

"Hello!" She called. The figure froze and after a moments hesitation, began to amble towards her. As the person approached, Rose discovered that the mysterious 'figure' was actually a little kid. He was dressed in matching red shirt and shorts, and he appeared to be barefoot like her. He had messy brown hair and chocolate eyes, with a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose. He stopped a few feet short of her.

"Hello, who might you be," she asked with a smile.

"My name is Theta, Theta Sigma." The youth stated shyly.

"Nice to meet you Theta Sigma. My name is Rose Tyler." Rose said cheerfully. She sat down in the grass and patted the ground beside her. Theta seemed to consider her carefully, then took his seat next to her.

"Nice to meet you too, Rose Tyler." He said, rolling the name on his tongue in a strangely familiar way. Rose smiled at the strange boy.

"So Theta," She asked casually, "Do you know where we are?"

"We're on Gallifrey of course!" Theta gaped at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh yeah, of course..." Rose had that intense feeling of deja vu again but just couldn't place the name. Pushing the thought away, she gazed in wonder at the scenery of the planet, captivated by its strange beauty. She stared far into the mountains, trying to find their end and wondering their names.

"Those are the mountains of Solace and Solitude, they stretch on for hundreds of miles until the reach the end of the Continent of Wild Endeavor."

Rose blinked in surprise at the answer. She hadn't realized she said that out loud.

"Over there," the boy continued pointing into the distance, "is Mount Perdition and that," he pointed to the domed city, "Is the Citadel, the capitol of Gallifrey."

Rose continued to scrutinize the scenery then her eyes and tilted her head back, basking in the warm rays of the two suns.

"What about you Theta," She asked, turning to the kid. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

Theta dropped his head, hair askew and began nervously picking at the grass.

_God hes adorable_ Rose smiled _I wonder how his parents say no to him._

"My friend Koschei and I used to play here together," Theta mumbled quietly. "He is older than me but he could come up with the best games. We would play until the suns set and our parents had to come get us." Theta smiled sadly, "But he's gone now and I'm all alone."

Rose heart clenched at the soft spoken words, "Where did he go?" She asked carefully.

Theta looked at her sadly, "He went to the Academy, he's already been initiated and everything. I'm going next year."

"Well, maybe you'll see him there," Rose tried to reassure him.

Theta laughed at her, "You're so weird," he giggled. "Everyone knows you change after being initiated. I tried to talk to Koschei after his initiation, but he's changed too much. He has a new name and everything, he's not my friend anymore."

Theta looked up at the sky and frowned at her. "I have to go now, I don't want to worry my parents."

Rose looked up a noticed the suns had begun to set while they were talking. Nodding at the boy, she agreed. "Yeah, don't want to do that. You take care, ok Theta?"

Nodding, Theta turned and ran through the grass, presumably towards his home. Nearing the end of the field, Rose saw him stop and wave at her. Smiling at him, she returned his wave.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" He hollered.

"I'll be waiting right here," She yelled back.

Beaming at her, he again turned and raced down the slopes. Suddenly feeling tired, Rose stretched out in the soft grass and studied the stars. _Weird,_ she thought. _I wonder why they are fading..._ Then her vision went dark and Rose was fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Rose woke up with a stiff neck. She pushed herself up and groaned, running her fingers through her hair in a desperate attempt to make it lay flat. Gazing around, she saw she was still in the field, the red grass blazing under the light of the suns. Growling in frustration, Rose eventually gave up and heard a slight laugh behind her. Startled, Rose spun around and saw a tall man standing a short distance from her.

"Who are you?" she asked, taking several cautious steps back and examining the stranger. He was dressed in a long red robe, which flowed in the breeze behind him. He was tall and extremely thin, bordering more on lanky. He had a young face and his brown eyes sparkled as he grinned at her.

"Oh surely you haven't forgotten me, did I really make such a fleeting impression, Rose Tyler?" the man questioned, a look of hurt crossing his face.

Rose studied the man more closely: messy brown hair that stuck up in every direction, chocolate brown eyes, a sight sprinkling of freckles across his nose... and the way he said 'Rose Tyler'...

"No," She gasped. "It can't be! Theta? Are you Theta Sigma?"

The man beamed at her. "Yep," he said, popping the p loudly.

"But... but how." Rose sputtered, disbelief written across her face. "The last time I saw you, you were just a kid. That was yesterday!"

Theta simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about yesterday, unless time flows differently for you. It's been years since I last saw you, I've already graduated from the Academy."

"You look different somehow,' Rose murmured, peering closer at his face. _Its his eyes, _she finally decided. They were much to old for someone so young. "You've changed... oh Theta, what happened to you?"

"I told you," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I graduated. And my name isn't Theta anymore, I grew out of that years ago."

"Then what is it now?"

"Its the... well, never mind. Its not important, just... just call me Theta."

Rose looked sadly at his haunted expression and quickly changed the subject. "So what have you been up to since I saw you last? I mean, besides the Academy."

Theta gazed at her in shock, then slowly began to laugh. "Oh, I forgot how strange you are," he chuckled.

Rose glared him, pretending to be annoyed with him, but secretly she was glad that hopeless expression had left his face. Unfortunately for her, his laugh was contagious and she soon had to abandon her facade, giggling uncontrollably.

"What's so funny," she gasped, unable to breath her sides hurt so much.

"You," he answered. "What did I do besides go to the Academy," he mocked in a horrible impersonation of her voice.

"Hey, I do not sound like that!" She complained, slapping his arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" He cried, pouting and holding his 'wounded' arm.

"Oh don't be such a wimp." She rolled her eyes.

His eyes flashed in mock anger. "I am not a wimp," he growled. "I am a Timelord, I watch over the universe and protect the laws of time," he announced grandly.

Rose rolled her eyes again and stuck out her tongue.

With a loud cry, Theta grabbed her arms and pulled her to the ground. Rose fell with a soft thud, the grass cushioning her fall. Dragging the Timelord down with her, Rose reached behind her and pulled up a tuft of grass shoving it in Theta's face. She laughed hysterically as his eyes widen with horror and he desperately spit the grass out.

"Oh that's it" He cried and with one hand, he quickly had her arms pinned above her head. His other hand he lifted dramatically and began wiggling his fingers.

"Oh please don't, have mercy!" Rose begged and soon began the shriek as he tickled her sides ruthlessly.

"Please... please stop," she gasped in between giggles.

Theta stared at her darkly. "I have decided to spare you, Rose Tyler. Be happy I am in a merciful mood."

"Oh thank you," she panted, face red from laughter.

Theta stretched out in the grass beside her, and the two friends soon fell silent, simply enjoying each others company. After several minutes, Rose noticed Theta sneaking guilty glances at her. Sighing she propped her head up on her arm and looked at him.

"Whats wrong?"

He lowered his head forlornly and started fiddling with the grass. Rose was painfully reminded of the a little boy doing the same thing when discussing a lost friend.

"I have to go now. There's a meeting in the High Council and I have been summoned." He explained apologetically.

Rose nodded her head in understanding. "Well, you'll just have to come visit me tomorrow, won't you?" Theta shook his head.

"Rose, last time we parted ways it was years before we saw each other, for all I know we may never meet again."

Rose bowed her head, of course she knew this but she felt such a strange connection to the young man before her. Like she had known him for years, even though they really just met. "Don't talk like that," Rose muttered, grabbing his hand. "You never know what the future may bring."

Theta smiled at her response and stood up. "Goodbye Rose Tyler," he said, and turned away, his long robe flowing behind him.

Just like last time, she watched him walk away but this time he didn't wave or smile. In fact, he didn't so much as glance towards her. He just kept walking, his long strides carrying him quickly across the field and out of her vision. "Goodbye Theta Sigma," she whispered.

* * *

The next time she awoke it wasn't to the sound of the wind sweeping through the grass or to the warmth of the suns on her face. It was to an entirely different noise, a deafening crash followed by the screams of thousands assaulted her ears. Leaping up in fright, Rose saw that the sky had changed it's color. It was no longer that beautiful burnt orange she had come to love, now the suns were obscured by a think layer of ash and smoke, darkening the planet below. Coughing and sputtering, Rose could barely make out the outline of the Citadel through the haze, but what she saw broke her heart. The beautiful dome was shattered and fires erupted from the tall graceful spires. Rose watched in horror as bright bursts of blue light flashed throughout the city and the screams slowly died out.

Unaware of the tears running down her face, Rose sank into the grass and closed her eyes, praying for it all to be over. Suddenly the wind picked up, sending ash and pieces of glass all around her. Opening her eyes, Rose found herself in the midst of a strange city. Choking on the smoke, Rose looked up with trepidation, dreading what she would see. Peering through the darkness, she could faintly make out the remains of a tall glass structure and her suspicions were confirmed. She was inside the Citadel.

Swallowing thickly, Rose stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. _Maybe I was sent here for a reason,_ Rose thought. _Maybe I can help these people. _Holding onto that hope, Rose trudged through the empty streets, avoiding the large pieces of glass and the charred shapes that strongly resembled bodies. Stepping over a particularity large piece of glass, Rose heard a soft shuffle in the pile of rubble beside her, followed by a gasp of pain.

"Hello?" Rose called. "Is there anyone over there?"

The shuffling continued until she heard a small voice cry. "Please, please help me! I'm.. I'm stuck! Please, somebody!"

Rose scrambled over to the voice and saw a young girl, dressed just like Theta had been when she first saw him, trapped under the pile of rubble. "Shhh, its ok," Rose tried to comfort the small child. "I'm here to help, don't be afraid."

The child continued crying as if she hadn't heard or seen Rose. "Please," she whimpered, "Somebody..."

Rose reached out to comfort the girl but before she could lay a hand on her, the girl screamed and was engulfed in a bright blue light.

"No!" Rose screamed but she was too late. Nothing remained of the girl except for a small charred body. Rose backed away from the gruesome sight and began to cry with earnest. "Please," she wept. "I want to go home, I just wanna go home..." The wind picked up around her again and this time Rose found herself transported inside a space ship. Wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and forget everything, Rose forced herself to get up. Rubbing the smoke and grit from her eyes, Rose saw the tall silhouette of a man by the door of the ship.

"Hello?" She called with a shaky voice.

The man ignored her an continued to stare out the door. Rose approached the man and peaked out the door. _We're in space_, Rose noticed. _Orbiting a red planet that looks very similar to... Gallifrey._ That's where they were, Rose noted. She would recognize that planet from anywhere, something was wrong. Below them the entire planet was engulfed in flames, Gallifrey was burning.

"We have to help them!" Rose exclaimed, running to the center console and looking at the many switches with confusion. "Please, they are dying, we have to hurry!" Rose frowned at the man's silence. "Aren't you gonna do anything," Rose demanded. "You have a ship, you have to save them!"

The man said nothing, oblivious to her very presence.

"Listen to me!" Rose commanded angrily, grabbing the man's shoulders and whipping him around... except her hand passed right through him. Blinking in shock, Rose realized that he wasn't ignoring her, he couldn't see her, just like the little girl. She might as well not be there. Her anger diminished and was soon replaced by sorrow. The entire planet... its people and culture... it was gone. Hearing a sniffle beside her, Rose regarded the man and finally got a look at his face. He was crying, Rose saw. He was covered in ash and shards of glass stuck in his wild brown hair... brown hair that looked extremely familiar. Choking in disbelief, Rose examined the face before her. It was dirty and haggard, but there was no mistaking the chocolate brown eyes or that crazy hair... It was Theta.

"Oh Theta," Rose whispered, gently touching his face. He had grown since the last time she saw him. He was taller and impossibly thin but what worried her was how much older he looked. His face was still unbelievably young, so it couldn't have been too long since their last meeting, but his eyes. His eyes held more sadness and hopelessness than Rose knew a being could possess. He continued to watch the planet, tears running down his haunted face before he turned away and approached the console. Rose watched him flick several switches and glance out the doors again. Rose looked too and to her alarm saw the planet slowly fading out of existence.

"No wait, what are you doing?" She hollered. "There are still people down there!" Spinning towards him in disbelief, Rose saw that the ship was also fading. Looking around in horror, she Theta collapse on the ground unmoving, golden light shining from his body. Before she could move to help him, everything around her faded. Screaming in anger, Rose tried to rush to her friend but he too was gone in a flash of golden light.

* * *

Rose woke up in her bed screaming, tears running down her face as her memories came rushing back. She remembered being unable to sleep, finding to Doctor on the console chair, then him helping her sleep... she remembered him going into her mind and she shuddered as she remembered her nightmare. She sobbed into her hands as she remembered the terrible dream; the dead little girl, the screams, and last... the look on Theta's face...

"Oh my God," Rose muttered, mentally focusing on Theta... it couldn't be..

Suddenly in Doctor burst into the room, panting heavily and wielding his sonic screwdriver. "Whats wrong?" He asked "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did you... what?" He stopped at the expression on her face.

"Its you," She whispered incredulity. "It was you all along, you're Theta Sigma!"

The Doctor's face paled at the name, "How do you know that name," he whispered in dismay.

"I had a dream, a terrible horrible dream about Gallifrey. About you. I saw it fall Doctor, I watched as you let it burn... why did you do it Doctor? Why didn't you help?" Rose asked, tears in her eyes.

The Doctor looked at her in silence, his mask slipped and for a moment Rose saw Theta Sigma. She again saw the uncertainty and despair in his eyes, and it broke her heart. He shook his head and crawled into her bed, once again her Doctor. Slipping his arms around her, he gave her a comforting hug.

"When I sent you to sleep, you must have looked into my mind by accident. What you saw Rose, was the end of the Time War, and I'm sorry, I am so so sorry you saw that. No one should have to go through that, least of all you." the Doctor lapsed into silence, remembering the horrors of the war. Swallowing thickly he continued. "The Time War was a great battle between the Timelords and the Daleks, a battle for the whole of creation. It stretched for many many years, and millions lost their lives. Then the Daleks took Arcadia and that's where the real slaughter began. We were over run, Arcadia was our last hope, and we lost it. At last they took the capital and it was over. The Timelords had lost. But the High Council had seen this coming, the fall of Gallifrey and I was summoned to a secret meeting, just me and the High Lord President. I was told that if the war was lost, that I would be given the task of destroying Gallifrey. And I did it Rose," the Doctor sighed. "Rassilon help me but I did it. I locked both the Daleks and the Timelords in a timelock. I committed two acts of genocide that day, I doomed two entire races for the sake of the universe and all of creation. That was my choice Rose: Gallifrey or the Universe." The Doctor fell silent, reliving those horrible days and remembering the splendor of Gallifrey.

"I saw you as a child, Doctor." Rose at last. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "God you were cute," she said with a laugh.

"Hey, I'm always cute," the Doctor protested with a smile.

Rose just rolled hers eyes and gave a yawn. Still grinning, the Doctor got up. "Oh no you don't" Rose murmured, grabbing his hand. "You're sleeping in here tonight."

"But Rose," the Doctor whined. "I've already slept! I don't need as much sleep as you."

"I don't care," Rose mumbled, refusing to let him go. Sighing good naturedly, the Doctor layed back down and watched his friend drift to sleep.

Oblivious to his gaze, Rose quickly fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

**AN: Well, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. Leave a review and let me know what you thought :)**


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